


Nightwing and His Blüdhaven Bomben

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Collected Bat-Family Stories [48]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman: Gotham Knights (Comics), Batwing (Comics), DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Bat Brothers, Bat Family, Blüdhaven, Friendship, Gen, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, One Shot, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 15:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16452746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: Nightwing's Blüdhaven Bomben gain another member and a base of operations. Tim and Wally each visit, and everyone has a pretty good Halloween.





	Nightwing and His Blüdhaven Bomben

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place around the same time as the previous story, Tricks and Treats and Bats and Birds, but can be read by itself.

When Dick asked Luke Fox to come out to Blüdhaven in order to help train Harper and Stephanie, and to teach them to work as a team, he hadn’t actually been trying to recruit his friend. 

In fact, Dick hadn’t intended to start his own team at all. 

He and Cassandra decided it would be a good idea for her to move to Blüdhaven after Tim and Jason pointed out how worried Alfred was whenever any member of the family worked so far from any of the others. Making Alfred’s life marginally less stressful was definitely worth the effort for her, and Dick had to admit that Blüdhaven had more than enough crime to warrant having another vigilante in the city. Especially one as skilled as Cassandra. 

Plus, he liked having his sister around. 

When Cassandra’s friend Harper decided she was going to move to Blüdhaven as well, Dick really hadn’t been a big part of that discussion. Harper and Cassandra were respectful enough to make sure he wasn’t against having another vigilante in his city before Bluebird made her crime fighting debut, but it had been the young women themselves who made the call. Harper felt she could build a better life for herself and her brother in Blüdhaven, and Cassandra was happy to have a friend in the city. It also meant they had a skilled electrician around, which was always handy.

Then had come Stephanie. The young woman was determined to continue fighting crime as The Spoiler no matter who spoke against it or how many times she got in over her head. Fortunately, she’d realized why she was often in over her head and requested training from Cassandra and Harper. Again, they’d been respectful enough of the fact that Dick had initially moved to Blüdhaven to fight crime on his own to ask if he minded having a vigilante in training there. 

It was a little more complicated with Stephanie. Her history with his family was more complicated. She was known to be reckless and stubborn. She was known to disregard the warnings and demands of those with more experience and skill than she possessed. Of course she’d been a little younger then; she’d felt the need to prove she was better than her father; she’d felt the need to feel she was Tim’s equal, despite lacking the extensive training and experience he had. For reasons Dick still didn’t understand, she also appeared to hate Batman telling her what to do nearly as much as Jason did.

Unlike with Harper, Dick had to think about it and talk to Cass about it for a while before giving Stephanie the okay. Ultimately they decided that removing her from Batman and Robin’s (and Red Robin’s) shadow or influence would be good for her. She had gained enough experience and maturity to acknowledge she wasn’t playing on the same field as the others, so she was less likely to get herself (or someone else) killed. Most importantly, she didn’t seem to have the same competitiveness with Cass or Harper that she’d shown with Tim and his friends. She also didn’t have any issues listening when Dick had to suggest improvements or tell her what to do.

So Dick had said ‘yes’ and ended up with a trio of badass young women helping him clean up Blüdhaven. 

Of course, each member of the trio had very different skill-sets, which Dick actually found useful. They also had very different levels of training, which had to be addressed. Dick trained with them a lot and Cassandra taught her friends to fight and disarm. Kate and Luke had come around for a while (at Dick’s request) to help with training as well. Kate returned to Gotham after putting the girls through what she called ‘Bat Boot Camp’. Luke continued to come out to help, until one day, he asked how Dick felt about him joining the team for a longer term basis. 

Luke was the most like Dick in the sense that he had a day job. He had friends in and out of the vigilante business. He dated. He visited family. He had his areas of expertise, but he also had a broader range of skills than the other vigilantes Dick was accustomed to working with lately. 

Luke didn’t require the level of ‘teamwork training’ that the others did. Having served in the military and worked with the Bat Family in the past meant that he knew how to fall into the ranks. He could lead as well as follow. He could work solo or with the others. 

Dick also genuinely liked the guy and enjoyed having a friend around who knew about his secret identity.

It was an easy ‘yes’.

Of course, one of the first things Luke asked was where their base of operations was. When he learned that they didn’t have one, he asked if he could make one. Dick thought it was a good idea. He’d been fine without one on his own, but now that he had a team, he figured it was time to give them somewhere safe to train and work from. Actually, he was ashamed to admit it was probably past time he gave them that. 

Which led to Bruce buying Dick a building, because that was just how his father worked. 

Then Tim came to help Luke and Harper set up the Blüdhaven Bomben’s new computer system and security system. The three of them worked together well and each understood the other’s technical jargon easier than the other members of the team, so Dick generally just left them to it. It wasn’t like Tim didn’t know exactly what their base needed.

That meant that when Dick decided to stop by with some food for his friend and little brother one day (he still liked to keep up with the base's progress and he wasn't going to pass on the chance to see Tim while he was in town), he immediately realized he must have missed something when he saw what Tim was wearing. 

His little brother was wearing a gray t-shirt with a wide neckline and arm holes, shorter sleeves than he usually wore, and which had a much lower hemline in the back than the front. On the front was the image of a pair of feet, one wearing a converse sneaker and the other wearing a ballet shoe. He wore this over a pair of fitting black yoga pants with a Batman logo on the hip and slip-on sneakers with black, sparkle laces. 

Dick grinned. “Okay, what I’d miss?”

Luke and Tim started updating him on the new security system they were designing. Both stopped speaking when they noticed the look on Dick’s face. Then they looked at him curiously, as though he was the one who needed to explain. 

“Oh, come on.” Dick gestured over Tim. He was laughing lightly as he spoke. “What’s with the getup? Are you dressed for Halloween already?”

Luke elbowed him lightly. “Hey, now. No shaming your little brother.” He turned to Tim. “You can dress however you want.” He looked him over a bit more critically. “Besides, you’re pulling it off.”

As the two men spoke, Tim had gone from looking confused, to affronted, to disbelieving. “Seriously? Neither of you recognized my clothes?”

Luke, who had been with the teenager for most of the afternoon, raised his brows. “Oh, it _is_ a costume? I just assumed you were keeping it casual while we worked.”

“Well, thanks for the acceptance, but these aren’t my clothes. They’re Cass’.” Tim looked particularly disbelieving at he turned back to his eldest brother. “This is her favorite shirt. How do you not recognize it?”

Recognition struck as Dick looked over his little brother’s outfit again. “So you’re dressing as Cass for Halloween?”

“What? No.” Tim rolled his eyes. “It isn’t even Halloween yet. She had her job interview today, remember?” 

He looked between the two older males. “She didn’t realize she should probably dress nicer for it and she was stopping by to help me move stuff around before Luke got here, so she dressed comfortably. By the time she realized she should change, it was too late for her to go home. We still wear the same size, and my clothes were more fitting for an interview, so we swapped.” He shrugged, done with the explanation. 

Dick turned to his friend. “Yeah, we probably should have noticed.”

Luke tilted his head, considering. “Honestly? Even if I‘d noticed they matched Cassandra’s clothes, the whole swap thing never would have occurred me. I’ve never worn the same size as either of my sisters, so my brain just wouldn’t have gone there.”

“I never did the clothing swap thing either.” Dick pointed out. “I only wore the same size as Jay for a while. Never Cass or Timmy.” He looked thoughtful. “Little D might get there in a few years.”

Tim rolled his eyes as he turned back to the panel he’d been running wires through. “Yeah, you guys are virile.”

Dick laughed and messed his little brother’s hair. “We didn’t mean anything by it. We all know you’ve kicked the asses of guys three times your size anyway.” He tugged on Tim’s borrowed shirt. “Now come on. Stop working for a bit and eat something.”

Luke and Tim filled him in on what they were doing over lunch. Afterwards, he helped them with the base and asked Tim about the Halloween plans Damian had told him about. He was glad to hear his little brothers would be spending at least part of the night together, having fun with their friends. They didn’t have enough fun as far as he was concerned. 

“That reminds me…” Tim turned to Luke during the conversation. “Luke, are you going to be here on Halloween or in Gotham?”

“Probably here. Why?”

“Well, since Jay and I are going to be busy for part of the night, I arranged for Kate and Renee to patrol until we get back. I wanted to let them know whether you’d be around or not in case they need backup. I’ll tell them to call Oracle if they hit trouble.” Tim’s tone wasn’t designed to pressure or guilt their friend. He was simply seeking information and offering an explanation. 

“I can make it to Gotham pretty damn quick in my suit,” Luke pointed out. “You guys need any help, call me. I can backup both teams for the night, no problem.” His tone and stance were confident. He knew his capabilities, so it wasn’t boasting or hopefulness. 

Tim nodded. “Thanks, Luke. I’ll be sure to let Kate know.”

“Cool.” Luke pointed to some of the code Tim was writing. “Now fill me in on what that nastiness does before I fry my computer trying to access it.”

"Don't worry, I'll give you a full rundown and all the passcodes before I go." Tim grinned and told Luke all about the programming.

Luke was very excited about the new tech and programs he’d be implementing. He seemed happy to be joining the team, and Tim even mentioned that he was glad Dick had brought Luke on-board. Dick didn’t feel as strong a need to seek approval these days, but it always nice when his family was pleased by or proud of his decisions. He smiled to himself as he continued screwing the covering on the new computer, which he as already considering names for. 

Cassandra joined them after her job interview, which she said went well. It was at the juice place across the street from her dance studio, so the manager recognized her and even talked about her own dance background for a while before asking Cassandra some questions. She thanked Tim for the clothes and started helping as well.

“Are you guys doing anything for Halloween?” Tim glanced at his sister, brother, and Luke before returning his attention to programming their new base. “Besides patrol, of course.” 

“I carved some of the pumpkins the Kents sent me. My apartment looks very festive now.” Dick smiled. He always enjoyed the little rituals surrounding holidays. He’d made Bruce carve pumpkins before Halloween every year as a child and watch all the animated specials that Alfred stated were good, but much too recently made to be considered ‘classics’, no matter if that's what Dick called them. 

“Wally’s coming over on Halloween night. We’re going to watch the Garfield Halloween Special and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and pass out candy until its time to head out for patrol.” Dick’s favorite was the Great Pumpkin, while Wally’s was the Garfield special. 

“Those are your Halloween go-tos?” Luke smiled at his friend. 

“Yep.” Dick had no shame. Not that his friend appeared to be trying to shame him. “What about you?”

“The Addams Family.” Luke grinned. “Marathon the show every year while I give out candy.”

Dick nodded his approval of his friend’s Halloween tradition. “You know, some parents start trick or treating here early in order to avoid the usual night crowd. We probably have time for all of it, if you want a couple viewing buddies.” He raised his brows. “How’s that sound?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Luke paused and pointed at Dick with the stylus he’d been taking notes with. “Do you dress up to pass out candy?”

“Of course.” Dick scoffed at the notion that he might not dress up for Halloween. “Nothing extreme, but you can’t disappoint the kids.” He shrugged and smirked. “Plus, its fun.”

Luke nodded and returned to his note taking as he watched Tim. “Good. I already got my pirate ghost costume set up and I wasn’t about to ditch it.”

“I would never dream of asking you to.” Dick carefully attached the decal he’d found, one that had been clearly designed to represent Batman and Nightwing, but ended up looking more like Nightwing and Batwing’s symbols. “Besides, there was no way I was ditching my Atlantean circus performer costume either.”

Cassandra looked at her big brother curiously. “What does an Atlantean circus performer look like?”

Luke glanced at him and then arched a brow. “And are you seriously branding our new base already?”

“Have you met my dad? Of course I’m branding already.” Dick gave his friend a ‘come on’ look and then turned to his sister. “I haven’t actually seen an Atlantean circus performer -they don’t seem to exist from what Arthur and Garth have told me- so I just put together what I would wear if I were performing in a circus that visited Atlantis. I think it reads well.”

Cassandra appeared to be thinking. “So…I’m guessing something formfitting and with a lot of sequins?”

“No sequins.” Dick rolled his eyes. “The material’s just iridescent in some places and metallic looking in others, reminiscent of scales or water reflections.”

His siblings were clearly fighting the urge to laugh at whatever mental images that brought up. Dick was fine with that. They were having fun and they weren’t actually laughing _at_ him. 

He smiled at his sister. “What about you? Did you decide if you were going to head to that party with Harper and Stephanie?”

“I am.” Cassandra nodded with a grin. “So is Cullen. We’re all going to dress as the Ghostbusters.” She frowned lightly. “Harper’s bugged we didn’t decide on it with enough time for her to get a car to decorate. She said it would have been fun.”

“There’s always next year.” Dick was putting up the matching decal for the other side of his team’s new computer. He sounded sympathetic, but optimistic. 

“Is the problem that she doesn’t have enough time to decorate the car now or that she doesn’t have a car?” Tim looked at Cassandra. “Because you know you can afford a car, right? Or you can just rent one and make sure the decorations don’t damage it.”

Cassandra looked at her little brother blankly for a moment. Then she blinked. “Shit.”

Tim laughed softly. “Jay forgets he has money sometimes, too.”

“That makes sense.” Dick considered. “They didn’t grow up with it like we did. And _definitely_ not like Dad or Damian.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t reasonable.” Tim countered then turned his attention back to their sister, who had approached him with her phone out. “Hmm?”

“Are these cars a good deal?” She leaned against him to see the screen as well. “They all look like they could be the Ghostbusters car.”

“The Ghostbusters car is a hearse.” Luke offered as he studied Tim's programming. “You could just look up used hearses.” He grinned. “You girls can turn it into the Bomben-mobile after Halloween, if you wanted.”

Cassandra’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. She turned to Tim and motioned for him to use her phone, since his searches were usually quicker. Plus, she assumed he would have a better idea of what hearses went for, since he just knew that sort of thing.

Sure enough, Tim handed the phone back to her a couple minutes later. “How about this one? It doesn’t need a lot of work, so Harper can focus on the decorations, and its a good price for that model.”

Luke turned to Dick while Cassandra happily bought herself a quality used hearse. “Why does your little brother know about hearse models and values?”

He was grinning lovingly at his younger siblings as he responded. “I told you, I don’t even ask how or why he knows the things that he knows. I just trust that when he gives me information, its good.” Dick pointed at his friend. “He’s never steered me wrong yet.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that he’s right. That just seems like really specific information for a kid to know.” He looked over the three other people in the room. All of which had been successful vigilantes or assassins while most kids were trying to learn basic algebra and compound sentences. “Even a Bat-kid.”

Dick smiled at the title. 

Cassandra realized she only had a motorcycle license, so she video-called Harper to make plans for her friend to pick up the hearse with her. Both young women were very excited about it, from what the others could hear of their conversation. 

“Wait, is that a collared Henley you’re wearing?” Harper suddenly asked from Cassandra’s phone. “Why are you dressed like a dork? Is that your new work uniform? At least the color’s good- Annnd you’re laughing. Why are you laughing?”

Cassandra shot an apologetic look at her little brother before addressing her friend again. “Its Tim’s shirt. He let me borrow it for my job interview, which went _really_ well, by the way. So the shirt did its job.”

Harper congratulated Cassandra and apologized to Tim, who accepted it without any hassle. Then, the young woman made plans to get their new hearse with Cassandra and then return to their new base so she could help them finish the main components. Cassandra and Tim swapped their clothes in the bathroom before she left to get her new vehicle.

A little later, Tim insisted that he had to return to Gotham that night. He’d been visiting for a day or two whenever he could to help set up their new base of operations and Dick wished his little brother would just spend the night more often. He understood why he didn’t, and he appreciated the help, but he worried that the extra work and travel on top of Tim’s usual schedule would take its toll while his little brother was en-route. 

“At least text me when you get there. If you’re more than twenty minutes late, I can text Jay.” Dick figured with him starting in Blüdhaven and Jason starting in Gotham, they’d be able to find out what happened quicker in case Tim went MIA.

His little brother frowned at him. “At least give me half an hour before you freak Jay out. There might be traffic, you know.”

That was fair. It wasn’t like Tim could simply text that he was in traffic from his motorcycle. “Okay. You have a half hour cushion. Then I’m texting Jay.” 

He held up a hand when Tim was obviously going to tell him he was being ridiculous. “If Jay finds out you might have been in trouble and I didn’t say anything, he _will_ make me pay. I’m not facing his wrath to spare you a minor annoyance. Not to mention, your cat scares the hell out of me.” The hand up changed from a firm gesture to an apologetic one. “I’m just saying.”

“Why is everyone so freaked out by Dex?” Tim shook his head in puzzlement as he grabbed his helmet. “Even Damian’s pets act weird whenever I bring him to the Manor. He’s a good cat.”

“He is.” Dick agreed. “But you’ve never seen the way he looks at other people when they approach you because he’s always with you in that situation. He gives this _look_. Like he’s gonna go full Red Lantern and kill us all if we do anything to hurt you.” 

“Really?” Tim didn’t look or sound impressed. “You don’t think you’re exaggerating a little?” He shook his head in exasperation when Dick just shrugged. “He’s a _cat_. Just a big, cuddly cat.” 

Dick scoffed at the description of the former Red Lantern. “To _you_ , he is.” 

“I think its cute.” Cassandra smiled. “The way he guards Tim.”

“Thank you.” Tim waved as he headed out of the building. “I’ll text when I get to the Bunker. Bye everyone!”

Everyone called their farewells to the boy and then started getting ready for patrols. Tim texted when he got to the Red Bunker -on time- as promised.

The new base was mostly done by that point. The girls alternated their time between working on finishing it and working on their new car. In addition to setting it up for Halloween, Harper was making changes for how they might use it afterwards. She asked Cassandra, Dick, and Tim questions about their vehicles and the ones they’d borrowed from Batman in the past to get some idea on how to toughen it up to be a vigilante’s vehicle. 

Cassandra texted Dick photos of her, Harper, Cullen, and Stephanie on Halloween. With and without their hearse. 

Dick, Wally, and Luke watched the Halloween animated specials first, so as not to break up the Addams Family marathon they had afterwards. Dick and Luke each wore their costumes as planned, and Wally had dressed as a shinigami. The kids who came trick or treating loved their costumes. Some of the older ones even asked if they could take photos. Each of the young men enjoyed talking to the kids who came to Dick’s apartment, seeing all their costumes, and handing out treats. 

They were especially amused when they encountered kids (and parents and older siblings who were taking the kids out) that were dressed as real superheroes or vigilantes. They saw several kids dressed as them, as well as several Black Bats and Bluebirds. There were a lot of Wonder Womans, Supermans, Supergirls, Aquamans, Aquawomans, Green Lanterns, and Flashes. There were even a couple of Batmans and Robins. Dick gave an extra fistful of candy to a boy dressed as Steward-Man, who he swore was the ‘Q to Batman’s 007’. He also gave extra candy to a kid dressed as Red Hood, after he asked the child if he was a villain or a vigilante and the kid answered fiercely; “He’s a hero.”

They also ate their fair share of candy while enjoying their shows, especially Wally, who always needed extra calories. They sang along with the songs of the Garfield special and the opening theme of The Addams Family. Dick adored the way Gomez and Morticia were together. Luke liked the way outsiders reacted to the family and the way the family never responded to it critically. Wally hadn’t seen the show yet -only the films and cartoon- and loved the whole thing.

They didn’t finish the series before they had to head out for patrols, so they made plans to watch more later in the week. Dick almost headed out in his Nightwing suit but with the iridescent makeup he’d been wearing still on. Fortunately, Wally caught it before anyone could see him. 

Cassandra checked in with Dick over the comms. She and her friends had already dropped Cullen off at Harper’s place and changed into their vigilante suits. The three of them planned to stick together as usual for the night. Everyone got on the same channel so they could each call in for backup if needed. Halloween didn’t lead to quite the same spike in crimes in Blüdhaven as in Gotham, but it was still a busy night since there tended to be more tourists around, who were prime targets for street-level crimes.

Dick had wanted independence when he moved to Blüdhaven. He’d wanted to be his own hero and do things his own way. 

He was and he did.

His way might be similar to his father’s, since he did learn so much from the man, but it was still _his_. He might have the support of several friends and family members, but he was still independent. 

More than all that, he was happy. 

He loved his city, damaged and garish as it was. He loved his family, damaged and dysfunctional as it might be. He loved his friends, crazy and impulsive as they might be. He loved his team, unexpected and inexperienced as it might be. He loved his life, unpredictable and unexpected as it might be. 

Nothing of great importance happened that night, but they probably made a world of difference to those they helped. They kicked the asses of several jerks who thought an attractive Halloween costume meant the wearer was asking for their unwanted advances. They stopped multiple muggings and robberies from those who would take advantage of the crowds and the costumes. They broke up multiple assaults and fights between people who had overindulged in festivities or came into contact with those they’d normally avoid. They stopped many crimes of opportunity and several that had been planned for that night. 

They normally didn’t accept rewards, but a kind woman had insisted Wally take some of the candy she’d been passing out when he stopped a group of burglars that had broken into her home. Luke got a caramel apple from a couple he’d helped when their party was crashed by some intolerant jerks determined to ‘teach them a lesson’. Cassandra was given a swirly pop by a bank teller after she stopped an armed robbery. Harper and Stephanie bragged that they got full-sized candy bars from a casino when they took care of some drunks who were harassing women that exited the building. Dick was given a cupcake and a kiss on the cheek from a woman he’d saved from an assault when she answered her door to what she’d thought had been a group of teenage boys trick or treating.

Across the city, people attended parties, haunted houses, clubs, and took their kids trick or treating, knowing that they were just a little safer thanks to Nightwing and his Blüdhaven Bomben. 

All in all, it had been a pretty good Halloween.


End file.
